How to play the D Ionian guitar scale

The D Ionian scale is a ionian scale which means it has the following definition:

R 2 3 4 5 6 7

The Ionian mode is the first mode of the Major scale.

Which notes are in the D Ionian guitar scale?

The notes in the D Ionian scale are:

D E F# G A B C# D

There are 7 notes in the scale with no flats and 2 sharps.

What are the intervals in the D Ionian Guitar Scale?

The scale definition for the D Ionian guitar scale is R 2 3 4 5 6 7 which means that the interval formula for the scale in semitones is:

2 2 1 2 2 2 1

You can also write this as note intervals:

Tone Tone Semitone Tone Tone Tone Semitone

The D Ionian Guitar Scale on the fretboard

Let's take a look at D Ionian on the guitar fretboard. Here is the scale across the entire fretboard:

What are the chords in the key of D Ionian?

There are 7 notes in the D Ionian scale so you can build 7 chords using each note in the scale as a chord root.

The triads (three note chords) in the key of D Ionian are:

Degree

I

ii

iii

IV

V

vi

vii

Chord

D maj

E min

F# min

G maj

A maj

B min

C# dim

Spelling

D F# A

E G B

F# A C#

G B D

A C# E

B D F#

C# E G

Diagram

D Ionian Guitar Scale Recap

Here is a quick recap of all the information about the D Ionian covered in this page:

• The D Ionian Scale is a ionian scale.

• The definition of the D Ionian scale is: R 2 3 4 5 6 7

• The notes in the D Ionian guitar scale are: D E F# G A B C# D

• The interval formula for the D Ionian scale is: 2 2 1 2 2 2 1

• The note intervals in the D Ionian scale are: Tone Tone Semitone Tone Tone Tone Semitone